How was the total number of representatives for all 50 states limited to 435, and why was it done?

Answer 1

Ok let me put this in layman's terms... you know how during the presidential election, everybody keeps talking about electoral votes... and have you noticed how some states have a lot more than others...

It's sort of like that but based the population of districts within each state. If one state has 20 million ppl and another state has 1 million the state with 20 million has more congressional members because obviously it would have more districts.

There are currently 435 districts in the USA... each district has one Congressperson in the House.

Btw, this only applies to the House of Representatives.

Here's a little bit of trivia I looked up real quick for you:
As of the 2000 census:

* Average population per district: 630,070 people
* State with the most districts: California: 53
* States with only one single district: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
* District with the greatest area: Alaska At-large
* District with the smallest area: New York's 15th
* District with the most people: Montana At-large: 905,316
* District with the fewest people: Wyoming At-large: 495,304
* Oldest district: Delaware At-large: Same geographical borders since 1789.

Answer 2

The basic principal is representation by population.

The idea is that each member of the House represents a certain number of people, although this is actually a range of a certain number of people. That's why one state can have a large number of House members and another just a few.

That's also why the Senate has just two members per state. That means that in one chamber of Congress, each state is equally powerful for voting purposes.

This is US civics 101. How is it that this Canadian can answer it but someone who apparently is American can't?

Answer 3

Originally it was 1 rep for a certain number of people. (I don't recall the number) as time went on there were more and more reps. 435 was the number it got to when they finally said "This is getting rediculous, no more" and since then it is locked at 435 and the number of constituents per representative keeps rising.

Answer 4

The number of representatives vary depending upon the population of the state. The more people the state has, the more representatives.

Answer 5

It has replaced various instances over the years, thrice in one twelve months, if memory serves, with Alaska and hi starting to be a member of the union. It replaced into then dropped backtrack to todays finished of vote casting contributors. chas (keep in mind that there are territories and a district that have contributors that don't vote so the quite finished is bigger.)

Answer 6

Formula is two senators and the number of Congressmen/Women which is dependent on the population of the state.